THE PERENNIAL PIMPLE

June 22, 2018

Are some pores just doomed? Some of us suffer with an unsweet spot where the same blemish pops up in the same place time after time. What’s going on here and what can be done about it?

Acne has bad manners and the permanent pimple notoriously so. It’s an unwanted guest that was never welcome in the first place, absolutely determined to stay for-stinkin’-ever despite your best efforts. People occasionally do have individual oil glands that could house a seemingly permanent pimple but most of the time the causes are touching and picking in area that hasn’t sufficiently healed or a cyst that hasn’t completely resolved.

Pimple pathophysiology

The whole blemish blooming business usually takes 10 to 14 days before you actually see anything. When the perfect storm of oil, bacteria and keratinization (i.e. sticky dead skin cell debris) get together, it takes that long to rear its inflamed and ugly head. The timing on hormonal blemishes is about the same. So when you’re doing detective work on a specific blemish, chances are it’s because of events from a week and a half ago.

Location, location, location

Certain areas of the face are more prone to breakouts than others. Hormonal acne (i.e. pre-period, peri-menopausal, menopausal, stress or polycystic ovary syndrome) is most common in the lower face around the mouth and chin. Though not necessarily discernable to the naked eye, the hairs growing in the chin area are thicker which directly convert cortisol into the androgens (i.e. male hormones) that contribute to acne formation.

Really though, the most common reason for recurrence is repeated pressure, rubbing or touching on a spot (aka acne mechanica). So if you find yourself always breaking out in the same place you rest your chin on your palm or where you hold your phone to your face, there’s your answer.

Picking your battles

Picking is a huge culprit because though it might appear that you’re squeezing out infected material, what you’re actually doing is rupturing the pore underneath and spreading the noxious gunk under the surface to other pores where it will, la voila!, grow into yet another breakout. Plus, when you pick, you’re introducing even more bacteria to the area.

What to do

Out with the bad habits and in with the good. Look at what touches your face and where. Get your hands off! Make cleaning your phone every night with an anti-bacterial wipe and changing your pillow case twice a week part of your routine.

That said, even good habits, a solid skin care routine and slathering on the spot treatments might not necessarily dislodge a perpetual pimple for long term. Once one moves in, even with conscientious attention, you might need professional help to extract it, encourage healing and help fortify the skin in the surrounding area. After all, all your pores are in this together.

NO MORE PORE YOU – If you like the idea of fighting acne on all fronts, SKINFIVE offers a special package we call our Acne Trio that includes The Refresher, The Infuser and The Spotless in a single appointment, all of which work synergistically on different acne factors. Acne is a stubborn foe, however, so for best results you may want to schedule a money-saving Acne Trio five series; that’s one Trio every other week for ten weeks. BOOK NOW